Jericho Barrons

Jericho Zigor Barrons, aka Barrons, is a being from another world, although he looks like any other human. His date of birth according to his Ireland identification is October 31st. However, he is possibly thousands (or hundreds of thousands) of years old. And he cannot die. He has the ability to shape shift into a monster with a dragon/cat-like form. He is extremely powerful and is experienced in the Druid ways. He is a leader of eight other men from his world and they rarely, if ever, question his authority.
His middle name, Zigor, is the Basque word for Punisher or Punished.

Jericho Barrons in the graphic novel Fever Moon

It is unknown what exactly Barrons is, nor what his true name is.

"I wondered where Barrons was."
There was a soft laugh, a deep, rumbling purr. "Is that what he's calling himself these days? Barrons?"
"Isn't that his name? Jericho Barrons?"
More laughter. "Is he using a middle name?"
"The initial Z." I'd seen it on his license.
"Ah, the Omega. Ever the melodramatic one."
"And the Alpha?" I said drolly.
"He'd probably try make a great case for it."
"What's his real name?"
"Ask him yourself."Mac and Ryodan, Bloodfever, Ch 19

Physical Description

The Man

Barrons has black hair that reaches his jawline, tanned skin, and black eyes. According to his Ireland identification, he is 6'3" and weighs 245 pounds (17.5 st). He's very powerfully built and often has red and black rune tattoos. When Mac first meets Barrons inside his store, Barrons Books and Baubles, she found that his presence overtook everything else within the vicinity.

He studied me with his predator's gaze, assessing me from head to toe. I studied him back. He didn't just occupy space; he saturated it. The room had been full of books before, now it was full of him. About thirty, six foot two or three, he had dark hair, golden skin, and dark eyes. His features were strong, chiseled. I couldn't pinpoint his nationality any more than I could his accent; some kind of European crossed with Old World Mediterranean or maybe an ancestor with dark Gypsy blood... He wasn't handsome. That was too calm a word. He was intensely masculine. He was sexual. He attracted. There was an omnipresent carnality about him, in his dark eyes, in his full mouth, in the way he stood.Darkfever, Ch 3

Author Karen Marie Moning has said she based his look off of Ian Nottingham in the TV series Witchblade. Eric Etebari starred as Ian and has often interacted with Karen and her fans.

The Monster/Beast

Barrons and his men seemed to have been cursed. The curse caused them to take on a beast form. It also causes them to never die. If they die, they reincarnate at the same age that they were when the curse Occurred.

The fact that they are cursed is a secret that is very closely guarded. None of the men are allowed to tell anyone or the person told will be killed.

In human form, Barrons sometimes lets his bestiality show in small ways. It is shown in the way he walks, so smooth and quiet. It is also shown in how fast he can move. However, the first time that Mac actually hears a difference is after the Sinsar Dubh nearly killed her. He becomes so upset that he makes a rattling noise in his chest. The noise is guttural and animal like.

He made that sound again, like a rattlesnake--a giant one--was shaking a warning tail in his chest... The sound chilled me the same way the Sinsar Dubh did. It made me think that Jericho Barrons' skin might be a slipcover for a chair I never wanted to see.Dreamfever, Ch 25

Barrons first appears in his beast form when he is summoned by Mac when she believes she is in a life-or-death situation. She is unaware that he can transform into the beast so doesn't know it is him. She is protected by the Beast because of a tattoo that Barrons placed on the base of her skull. To protect Mac from other predators, the beast urinates around her using his scent as a detraction.

The beast, which would stand upright at least nine feet tall and is extremely fast, takes on two forms; one for day and one for night.

It's day form is gray. It has three sets of sharp, curved horns that are spaced at even intervals along two bony ridges that run down each side of his head. The first set was located at its ears, the second midway back on its skull, and the third pair came from the rear of its head and curved down toward its back. Long black hair tangled around its prehistoric face. It had a crested forehead, prominent bones, and long deadly fangs. Its eyes were yellow with vertical slits for pupils. The beast's hands and feet were webbed and had long talons. Its skin was slate gray and smooth like leather. It's entire body was heavily muscled.

The night form of the beast is black with red eyes.

The form that beast takes is different when it is summoned by Mac. The summoned beast is the beast at its basest form. Whereas the beast that Barrons transforms to at will is much more in control.

Transforming into the beast is extremely painful.

Biography

Family

Barrons has a son who received the curse along with Barrons and the rest of his men. His son, however, was the first of them to die and come back, so they were unaware that this was part of the curse. When they realized this, they went to find him. However, others had discovered the boy and tortured him by killing him over and over. Eventually he changed into his monster form and was never able to control it. Barrons and his men finally found the boy, but by this time, the boy was beyond helping. A memory that Mac is able to garner from Barrons speaks of this time.

I hold a child in my arms.
I star into the night.
I won't look down.
Can't face what's in his eyes.
Can't not look.
My gaze goes unwillingly, hungrily down.
The child stares up at me with utter trust.
His eyes say, I know you won't let me die.
His eyes say, I know you will make the pain stop.
His eyes said, Trust/love/adore/youareperfect/youwillalwayskeepmesafe/youaremyworld.
But I didn't keep him safe.
And I can't make his pain stop.
Bitterness fills my mouth with bile...I never understood anything about life until this moment...
If the child dies, nothing will ever matter again, because a piece o me will go with him...
I hold him.
I rock him.
He weeps...
I stare into those trusting eyes.
I see him there. His yesterdays. His today. The tomorrows that will never be.
I see his pain an dit shreds me.
I see his absolute love and it shames me.
I see the light--that beautiful perfect lifht that is life.
He smiles at me. He gives me all his love in his eyes.
It begins to fade.
No! I roar. You will not die! You will not leave me!
I stare into his eyes for what seems a thousand days.
I see him. I hold him. He is there.
He is gone...
Something rattles deep in my chest.
I do not recognize it.
I am no longer what I was.
I look at the others.
None of us are.Dreamfever, Ch 25

They had to cage his son to keep him safe from others. It became Barrons' mission during his existence to find a way to put his son down permanently so he would no longer suffer. This is the reason that Barrons wants the Sinsar Dubh.

Powers

Barrons is extremely strong and fast. Mac first experiences this quickness the first night she meets him. She kind of blows it off by telling herself that she just didn't notice how fast he is. Later she realizes that it's not normal.

I didn't see it coming. He was nearly past me, nearly to the door, when he grabbed me and slammed me back against his body. It was like hitting a brick wall. The back of my head bounced off his chest, and my teeth clacked together from the impact...
His body was far more powerful beneath that fine suit than I ever would have guessed, like reinforced steel. In that instant, I understood that the open door had been nothing more than a mocking concession, a placebo he'd fed me that I'd swallowed whole. Anytime he'd wanted, he could have snapped my neck and I wouldn't have gotten off a single scream. Or he could simply have suffocated me, as he was doing now. His strength was astonishing, immense. And he was only using a small fraction of it. I could feel the restraint in his body; he was being very, very careful with me.Darkfever, Ch 4

He is able to walk past Shades without any repercussions; in fact, they seem to fear him.

Barrons is extremely knowledgeable with the Druid arts. He often tattoos himself in black and red runes based in the Druid ways. He is also able to use wards to protect his establishment against many different beings, including the Seelie Prince, V'lane. However, doing this isn't easy.

"Wards demand...resources. Protection has a price. All power does."
-Barrons, Bloodfever, Ch 4

His knowledge of the black arts is also very advanced.

Voice is another power that Barrons can do with mastery.

He is also able to kill Fae without using one of the Seelie Hallows. He killed a Seelie Princess.

He has a magnitude of powers that have yet to be discovered or explained.

Beliefs

Barrons has some very strong beliefs, thought they don't center around religion; he comes by them due to the many years he has lived and his experiences.

He believes that words mean nothing; a person should only be judged by their actions.

He believes that anyone worth knowing breaks once and there is no shame if the person survives. He was broken once and he killed the person (and the person's wife) with his bare hands.

Deaths

When Barrons dies, at the next dusk his body disappears and he reappears to the place in which he first died. He still feels the pain of the death. The place of his 'rebirth' is kept a deep secret because it is at this point that they are at their most vulnerable. It is how his son ended up being unable to control his transformation because of the torture he received at each of his rebirths.

Killed by Mac and Ryodan

Barrons was summoned by Mac when she believed she was in mortal danger. When he appeared he was in his beast form, but it was the most animalistic type of form. He was unable to control his actions, but the mark he left at the bottom of her skull protected her from him. She was unaware that it was even him. She was also unaware that he could die and come back again. Ryodan appeared to help get her away from the beast form of Barrons. However, instead, the beast fought with Ryodan and threw him over a cliff and Mac stabbed him with her spear and he died. After he died, his body turned back into Barrons' human form. The was absolutely devastated believing that she had killed Barrons.

Business

Barrons is a collector of extremely rare items. Most of these items are of the Fae type.

Books

Barrons Books and Baubles includes thousands of books. However, the main book he wants - the Sinsar Dubh - is not included in his collection. The Sinsar Dubh, the book written a million years ago by the Unseelie King, is the number one item that Barrons wishes to have.

Baubles

Silvers - Barrons has one of the Unseelie King's Silvers located in his study in Barrons Books and Baubles. He has actually stacked many Silvers and they lead to his living quarters three stories beneath the garage behind BB&B. Barrons makes the Silver appear as an actual mirror. The illusion is so strong that it fools Mac's Object of Power sidhe-seer power. However, one evening, Mac (while hiding outside the study's door) sees Barrons exit the Silver with a mutilated dead woman in his arms. When the Silver opened, Mac could then notice the objects on the other side of it. They monsters in the Silver ran when Barrons appeared.

Personality and Traits

Personality

Barrons is very autocratic and authoritative. When questioned, he's very good at evading by answering with a question of his own or distracting the questioner.

Because of his age, his vocabulary is vast. English is the fifth language he learned.

Mac accuses him of not knowing what it's like to have lost someone and to never have loved. She also accuses him of being greedy and claims that he only gets a hard-on over money. His response suggests otherwise.

"Yes, I have loved, Ms. Lane, and although it's none of your business, I have lost. Many things. And no, I am not like any other player in this game and I will never be like V'lane, and I get a hard-on on a great deal more often occasionally." He leaned fully against me and I gasped. "Sometimes it's over a spoiled little girl, not a woman at all."Bloodfever, Ch 12

He doesn't believe in wasting his time or effort on trivial things. He believes a person should be judged on their actions and not their words.

He does not like to celebrate birthdays. This may have a lot to do with the fact that when he dies, he is re-birthed again. However, according to his Ireland driver's license, his birthday is Samhain/Halloween, October 31st. When Mac attempted to celebrate his birthday by bringing him a big pink cake, he became extremely agitated and smashed the cake into the ceiling. Later, when she asked why he did this, he simply stated that she was attempting to celebrate the day he was born. Apparently, for him, this is not something he chooses to celebrate.

Clothing/Accessories

Barrons is a sharp dresser. He prefers expensive Italian suits. However, if he has to get dirty, he'll wear tight-fitting black t-shirts with matching jeans.

He has a platinum and diamond watch.

He is often seen wearing an embossed, wide silver cuff that appeared very old and Celtic.

Vehicles

Barrons has a garage located behind Barrons Books and Baubles full of extremely valuable and rare vehicles. His vehicles include:

A black-and-chrome hog - According to Mac, this Harley had it's own attitude, just like its owner.

Barrons' Harley didn't roar. It didn't even purr. A chrome and ebony predator, it glided soundlessly into the night, whispering, I'm big and silent and deadly, and you'd better hope I don't get a piece of you.Faefever, Ch 7

A black Porsche 911 Turbo convertible with 515hp

1975 Walter Wolf Lamborghini Countach (one of three in the world; color unknown, however the only red one is currently in Japan, one was blue, and the last one navy blue, which was sold by Mr. Wolf...one must assume to Barrons)

- IYD = If You're Dying... "But if I were you, I'd call that one only if I was sure I was dying, otherwise I'll kill you myself." - Jericho Barrons to MacKayla Lane, Bloodfever, Ch 9

Never believe anything is dead until you've burned it, poked around in its ashes, and then waited a day or two to see if anything rises from them. Bloodfever, Ch 10

Food/Drink

Relationships

Mac

Barrons takes a special interest in Mac because he realizes she has some pretty special talents. He's also attracted to her, though he tries to keep it under control. Eventually he fails.

He and Mac seem to have a special connection. Often they're able to communicate without speaking. Whether the communication is actually happening, or they just seem to understand each other without using words, is unknown. However, this communications begins the first time they meet.

Our gazes locked and we stood a moment in that frozen tableau. I could almost see him calculating the importance--if any at all--of our sudden audience.
Then he gave me a faint sardonic smile and inclined his head as if to say, You win this time, Ms. Lane. "Don't count on it twice," he murmured.Darkfever, Ch 3

The Nine

Barrons lead eight men (all together, they're often called "The Nine") that are from his same world. Like him, they all change into a monster form and are unable to die. All of them are large men. A few look more animal than human, while one has white hair, pale skin, and dark eyes. They all move sleek and strange. They ooze arrogance. They have the ability to move faster than the human eye can see. Like Barrons, they appear to be in their early thirties and are heavily muscled. One has badly scarred hands.

The Fae

Associates

There are three main players in Dublin (not including the Lord Master) that are also, like Barrons, after the Sinsar Dubh.

McCabe

McCabe is Irish, big-boned, hard-bodied, with auburn hair. McCabe's mansion, Casa Blanc, is found 20 minutes north of Dublin. The house is made up of steel and glass, with see-through skywalks and metal-framed terraces. The interior has new age furniture and is decorated in white and black. The people who go there wear the those colors as well. It turns out that McCabe is actually on the many parts of the Unseelie King. The UK is so vast that he unable to stay in just one human body - he must spread himself out to many forms.
Others associates at Casa Blanc include:

Ellis - Barrons doesn't seem to like Ellis too much as Barrons tells Ellis to stay out of his business.

Ob - One of two Fae Rhino Boys (McCabe does not know they are Fae) that replaced McCabe's bodyguards and give off glamour to look like the original bodyguards.

Yrg - The other Rhino Boy.

Mallucé

Mallucé is a British man who portrays himself as a vampire. His real name is John Johnstone Jr. His four-storied Victorian mansion is located ten minutes south of Dublin. The occupants wore Victorian-style clothing that were ripped, blended with Goth, Rivet, and Punk.

Rocky O'Bannion

Rocky O'Bannion is an Irish mobster and former boxer. He lives in Dublin and has a restaurant. He also is the head of the mob in Dublin.

Elle Masters

Elle Masters is Barrons' contact in the Ancient Languages Department at Trinity College.